This week introduces the idea that control is often an illusion we use to hide shame. From the very beginning in Genesis, sin led Adam and Eve to hide, blame, and try to manage how they were seen—patterns we still follow today. True freedom comes not from controlling our image or circumstances but from bringing our sin and shame into the light and trusting Jesus to forgive and restore us.

Here are some discussion questions to further guide your conversation:

• Have you ever tried to impress someone by pretending to be something you’re not or hiding something about yourself? Why do people do this? What are we afraid might happen if people see the real us?

• Michael said, “Shame is an emotional weapon that evil uses to corrupt our relationships with God, others, and ourselves.” Why do you think shame has so much power over us? What are some ways students try to control how others see them?

• Read Genesis 2:25. Adam and Eve were “naked and not ashamed.” What does this tell us about what their relationship with God and each other was like before sin entered the world?

• Read Genesis 3:1-13. After Adam and Eve sinned, what were the first things they did? What do their responses (hiding, blaming, covering themselves) teach us about how people still respond to shame today?

• Shame often leads people to hide, pretend, blame others, or try to control their image. Where do you see this happening in church, in friendships, in sports, in academics, on social media, etc.?

• Read 1 John 1:7-9. According to these verses, what happens when we stop hiding, bring our sin and shame into the light, and get honest with God?

• Tim Keller once said, “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is a lot like being loved by God.” What do you think this quote means? Why is it such good news that God fully knows us and still loves us?

• Close in prayer: how can this Group help you be real with God, one another, and yourself?